but i'll be damned if i see another chick on your arm
by CalaveraCandiedSkull
Summary: Sixteen-year-old girls with jealousy are bad. Sixteen-year-old dragon girls with jealousy are worse. - RoWen. Now with more NaLu and GaLe!
1. i'll be damned if i see another chick

**A/N So this isn't supposed to be anything serious guys, I'm just having fun. People forget Wendy's a dragon slayer, too. One day, she'll go crazy. ONE DAY.**

**-title comes from the song 'Ring the Alarm' by Beyonce. I am picturing a very angry Wendy breaking everything in her house while singing loudly to this song. Off-key.**

**-cover pic comes from Google images. Because it's cute.**

**XxXxX**

**But I'll be damned if I see another chick on your arm – RoWen**

**XxXxX**

There are several well-known facts about dragon-slayers, and these are things that apply to dragon slayers in all shapes, sizes, or forms. Some of these things include hoarding - nesting, as they called it - or the fascination with shiny objects. They were prone to violence, admittedly some more than others; and they liked to stick together and stand up for one another. They had excellent senses of smell, sharper than usual eyesight, and the tendency to eat strange things like fire and air. They were also very possessive creatures. And when applied to the rule of dragons having one mate and only one mate, this could also cause dragon slayers to become very, very, jealous.

None, it seemed, had been able to escape this aspect. Take Gajeel, for instance. He threw people into walls if they even looked so much as sideways at Levy. And then of course there was Natsu, who once spent an entire week sulking in misery because Lucy started dating some guy. There had even been rumours from the town of Sabertooth's residence of entire buildings being disintegrated.

There was one dragon slayer, however, no one had expected to go off the deep end. But dragon slayer she was, and that made Wendy Marvell just as susceptible to ridiculous jealousy as the next.

She was sitting at one of the guild tables, supposedly eating lunch. What she was really doing was stabbing her fork into her meat so hard it was starting to bend out of shape, glaring holes into the back of a certain rainbow-fire mage's jacket.

"You know, if you concentrate hard enough you might set him on fire," Natsu joked from beside her. Lucy chided him, smacking the side of his face lightly.

"Wendy, don't listen to him. If you concentrate that hard you'll give yourself an aneurysm. And..um..." She trailed off, glancing at the fork which was now nearly bent in half. Levy picked up.

"Your fork is dying," she said dryly, gesturing to the now useless utensil. Gajeel perked up.

"I'll eat it," he offered, and Levy gave him a disparaging glance. "What?"

Wendy Marvell, now sixteen and arguably the princess of the guild, hardly looked like the kind of girl who needed to be jealous of anyone. The last four years had been nothing but incredibly kind to her, and she was beauty with flowing, blue locks and glimmering brown eyes. She had a willowy figure, slender but not thin, with just enough curve to catch a man's eye. She still wore sundresses, with patterns of blue, green and gold. But they became sleeveless, sometimes strapless, short, and entirely age appropriate. There was not a single thing Wendy Marvell, Sky Sorceress, could possibly want that she did not already have.

Well, of course, with the exception of one rainbow-fire mage by the name of Romeo Conbolt.

If the years had been kind to Wendy, they had been positively benevolent to Romeo. At seventeen, he was a pale, dark-haired version of Natsu. In fact, he'd once been called (by a _very_ drunk Cana) the love-child of Natsu and Zeref. Romeo had also started wearing darker clothes, usually with open vests, and had taken to wearing his orange scarf tied around his waist. He also had a rainbow-beaded necklace hanging around his throat. One, Wendy would like to point out, that _she_ had made for him, and that he never took off.

The development of friendship between Romeo and Wendy was an unexpected one, but nonetheless quite a strong one. Romeo liked his teacher Totomaru, but since the latter refused to go out on missions he was dying for some hands-on experience. So he'd taken to accompanying Team Natsu on their missions, and this usually included Wendy. Like any two children of the same age would, they had become fast friends and when they were deemed old enough, started going off on missions on their own, becoming the team Mirajane affectionately dubbed 'RoWen.'

Wendy's relationship with Romeo had done nothing but grow, and he could have easily been called her best friend, if not for Charla. The white exceed's approval of the boy only made the camaraderie between the three more enjoyable.

But there was another variable to add to the RoWen factor, and that was Wendy's _other_ best friend, who was a girl and not an exceed. A girl by the name of Chelia Blendy, also known as the Sky God Slayer. After the Grand Magic Games, the two girls had never lost contact and wrote letters back and forth pertaining to what missions they went on, their personal lives, how their powers were improving. They met up often to spar, and every time fought the other to a standstill. Wendy's white wind and Chelia's black wind, earning her the nickname Stormy Sky, were undefeatable to the other.

Chelia had grown, but in a somewhat opposite direction of Wendy. She became taller, curvier, picking up her cousin's habit of Lolita-dresses. She was bright and bubbly and had more boys on a string that she could count on both hands, and probably feet, too. She and Wendy had grown close, and the dragon girl had harboured no ill will toward the other – right up until the day Chelia met Romeo.

Which led to the predicament Wendy had currently found herself in.

"No, seriously," Gajeel continued. "You'll never be able to use that fork again. Might as well just let me have it now, I want a snack anyway-"

"_Gajeel!"_

Both Natsu and Gajeel were sitting at the table with Wendy, watching her with unmasked amusement. Both were something of older brothers to her, and what were older brothers for if not to tease? "Quick," Natsu poked her. "Go kick Shelia out the window. I promise you'll feel so much better!"

Wendy snapped her teeth and Natsu's finger, and he backed off. Lucy was positively astounded to see her usually sweet friend in such a mood. "Wendy, for the love of Mavis! What is the matter with you?"

"Oh, this is nothing compared to how Natsu got that one time," Levy sighed. "Hey Gajeel, do you remember that?"

"Of course I remember," he answered gruffly. "How could anyone forget? Flame-Brain turned into a bigger pansy-ass than that vampire boy you love so much."

Ignoring Levy's argument of "_I do not like Twilight_," Gajeel continued. "Listen, kid. It's obvious you've got Mini-Flame-Brain picked out as a mate, so just get over there right now and save yourself all the trouble! And get that other damned woman off his back!"

Indeed, it did seem as if Romeo was all but head-over-heels for the stormy God Slayer. She was visiting the guild for the fourth time that week, and was currently sitting at a table leaned over so far her shirt was practically horizontal. Chelia was about as obvious as flirters could be, and Romeo, it appeared, was playing right along. He leaned in close to her, twirling red fire from his fingers and shaping them into a heart. Chelia giggled loudly.

Wendy's fork went straight through her plate.

"Okay," Gajeel said. "I'll eat the fork but not the plate; I draw the line at pottery."

At that moment, Chelia decided it was high time to visit her friend and danced over to Wendy. "Hey girl," she greeted cheerfully, oblivious to Wendy's turmoil. "How about we go spar later?"

"Actually," Wendy, who was always up for fun with her friend, countered. "I'm not feeling too well. I think I'll go lie down for a bit."

"Oh." Chelia's forehead creased. "Do you need anything?"

There was genuine concern for her friend in Chelia's gaze, and it made Wendy's stomach hurt even harder, because she should not be hating this girl who was supposed to be her closest female friend who wasn't an exceed. The Sky Sorceress shook her head, walking swiftly towards the exit of the guild.

Chelia watched her in worry, before sighing and returning to her conversation with Romeo. The fire mage had also been watching Wendy as she left, and had a hard time tearing his gaze from the door.

"I don't get it," Natsu said bluntly. "I know how dragon jealousy works. She should by trying to tear Chelia limb from limb right now!"

Lucy sighed. "Natsu, jealousy is very different for women. It's not just about violence."

"Yup," Levy heaved, resting her chin on her palm. "Poor Wendy. I can only imagine what kind of turmoil she must be in."

"Not to mention, Chelia isn't a stranger. They're close friends."

"Mhmm. She probably feels guilty as well as rejected, plus a great amount of insecurity."

"She's probably gone through an entire thing of ice cream by now."

Natsu and Gajeel followed the girl's conversation like a ping pong match. "How do you know all this?" Natsu asked, amazed. Lucy patted his head.

"I read, darling."

xXx

Meanwhile, it was not an entire tub of ice cream Wendy had gone through but she was getting there. Scraping her spoon through the frozen chocolate, she ignored the sound of Charla flapping her wings and coming through the window.

"You'll make yourself sick," she told Wendy, frowning disapprovingly. The young dragon sighed.

"I don't care. Maybe it'd be better if I did get fat. Maybe then I could get a real chest. The kind Romeo would be interested in."

"Oh." Charla sighed. "So that's what this is about."

Wendy just turned up the movie a little louder.

The white exceed padded over, sitting in front of Wendy and effectively blocking her from the lacrima screen. "Hey!" Wendy yelped. "These things are a new invention, you know. I paid a lot of jewels for that!"

Charla cocked an eyebrow, ear twitching. "Oh, yeah? And tell me you are not watching some sappy love flick where the guy is with the popular girl, then at the end realizes it was the nerdy girl he wanted all along?"

"No," Wendy said stoutly. Disbelieving, Charla turned around.

"'She's All That,' huh?"

"Sh-shut up!"

Wendy purposefully tuned out Charla in favour of the movie. The exceed rolled her eyes at Wendy's behavior, then hopped over to the window. "Well, I'm off to see Happy. Try not to get into a food-coma by the time I come back."

"Have fun on your date," Wendy said sullenly. Charla rolled her eyes and flew out.

Wendy clutched the tub of ice cream tighter. She wouldn't go into a food-coma; she was a sixteen year old mage. She could eat anything she wanted and never have a worry or care about how it would affect her body. Not to mention, she was a very physically fit mage. She could work off any extra fat.

With those thoughts in mind, Wendy delved deeper into the ice cream.

xXx

Back at the guild, Levy and Lucy were doing some research of their own. They watched stealthily as Chelia left the guild with a wave, and Romeo started to make his way to the request board.

Romeo, it had been decided, needed to be talked to. He should not be acting like his namesake; after all, his namesake killed himself rather graphically. And both Lucy and Levy refused to let that talk come from Natsu and Gajeel, because that would be less of a talk and more of a fist-flying 'don't hurt our little sister'. Now Lucy and Levy also viewed Wendy as a younger sister, but they had a considerably higher intelligence than their dragon counterparts. And they knew exactly what it was like to be on the receiving end of a dragon's jealousy.

So as Romeo reached the far end of the board, they reached out and yanked him back into the shadows.

"Wha-!" He yelped. Catching sight of the two women, he grinned. "Oh, hey Lucy, Levy. What's up?"

Lucy crossed her arms. "I think the question here, Romeo, is what is up with you?"

His eyes darted back and forth, not meeting either one's gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your new friend Chelia?" Levy inquired. Romeo gulped.

"Yeah, she's pretty great. What about her, exactly?"

Both girls were staring holes into him. Romeo was starting to sweat. "Um, guys, you're scaring me..."

Lucy slammed her hand on the wall next to him. "What about Wendy!?"

Romeo jumped about a mile. "What about Wendy?" he demanded. "She's my best friend, so what?"

At the mention of the word 'best friend,' Lucy leaned in very close. "Four years ago, guess who was my 'best friend'?"

"Um, Levy?"

"Natsu!" She growled. "And you know what I never realized about my best friend?"

"That you were in love with him?" Romeo crossed his arms sulkily. He had a pretty good idea of where this conversation was going to go.

"Exactly! And do you know what happened when I went out with another guy?"

Romeo rolled his eyes. "That's because Natsu liked you. It's a completely different story." He turned to Levy. "Same with you. You and Gajeel always had kind of a mutual interest. Wendy..." he sighed. "She doesn't think of me like that."

Lucy and Levy shared a surprised glance. "How do you know?"

"Because!" He said. "I just... I do! I overheard her talking, and she doesn't see me as anything more than a friend." Straightening his shoulders, Romeo made to leave. "So excuse me for having given up on Wendy a long time ago-"

Lucy grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back. "When was this?"

"...two years ago."

"Well, things have changed since then, pal." Levy frowned. "Either that or she was lying to begin with. Wendy is head over heels for you, Romeo."

He shook his head. "No way. You two are just trying to get us together, but it'll never work!"

Lucy gave him a solid thump on the head. "Idiot! Are all seventeen year olds this dense?"

"Ow!" he glared up at her. "Lucy, you're supposed to be nice."

"Not when people are being idiots!" She raged. Levy pulled her aside.

"Listen, Romeo," she said sweetly. "I know you have no reason to believe us. But... just go on a mission with Wendy, okay? And keep what we said in mind."

He sighed impatiently. "Fine. Just let me go, okay?"

The two girls watched him go from their hiding place. He quickly scanned the request board, snatched one off and stalked out the guild doors. Lucy was still seething in anger. Levy glanced at her in amusement. "You know, I think Natsu is rubbing off on you."

"Shut up, Levy."

xXx

Romeo found himself standing outside of Wendy's apartment, a place he normally would have no problem banging on the door to, yelling for Wendy until she opened the door. He liked to praise himself that he had more tact than Natsu because he actually knocked, but Wendy often complained that she'd prefer it if he just came in.

But today, Romeo was quite unable to knock obnoxiously as he would have on any other day. For today, see, the words Levy and Lucy had spoken to him earlier were still ringing in his head. He was teetering on that dangerous _she-loves-me, she-loves-me-not_ thought process and it was not doing good things to his cognitive functioning. Or his digestion.

"Wendy?" he called tentatively as he knocked on the door, ignoring his gurgling stomach. "Hey, are you in there?"

No answer. He turned the knob and the door swung open, revealing a very dark room with all the shades on the windows shut. He entered slowly; the only light came from the flickering lacrima screen and Wendy's apartment was not exactly clean. She really tried, but then there was this bad habit she had of using the floor as a dresser.

He came across Wendy's prone form, stretched on the couch with her eyes closed and an empty tub of ice cream in her arms. A spoon was half-dangling out of her mouth. Romeo bit back a snicker; she was ridiculously endearing.

Kneeling down beside the couch, he placed a hand on her forehead. "You went into a food-coma, didn't you?" he asked her gently.

Wendy's brows furrowed in her sleep. Stopping his joking, Romeo looked at her sleeping face. I mean, really looked, because it wasn't often he got to just stare at her face like a creeper. Believe him, he knew.

It wasn't as if Romeo hadn't carried a torch for Wendy for the last four years. Honestly, who wouldn't have? She was pretty, and smart, and strong – not to mention incredibly sweet and good in the kitchen. She was like every man's dream girl, but Romeo was pretty sure dream-girls were supposed to like people back.

Chelia may not have been Wendy, but at least she seemed interested. Romeo was not the kind of guy to be stuck in the friend-zone forever, wallowing in his own misery. He was a good-looking guy, not to mention he was his father's son. So if Chelia, a perfectly cute and nice girl on her own, wanted something to do with him other than friendship, who was he to turn her down?

He brushed her bangs off her forehead. Still, if what Lucy and Levy said had been true...

Romeo shook his head. No way.

Getting up, he headed to Wendy's kitchen to grab her some water. Coming back to the living room, he kicked the couch and called, "Oi! Get up, lazy, we've got a job to go on!"

She groaned loudly. "Five more minutes."

"No." He handed her the glass of water. "Drink up, water is good. Celery, too, if I remember that movie correctly."

"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," she answered immediately. Romeo snorted. Leave it to Wendy.

She chugged the water all in one go, blinking at Romeo, awareness fading into her face. "Oh," she said, once her eyes focused. "It's you."

"Yeah, it's me," he answered. "As if there would be anyone else telling you to go on a job."

She scrunched her nose. "I missed that part. What time is it?"

"Too early to be conked out for the night in a coma!" he declared, poking her in the forehead. "Come on, it looks perfect. See?"

She took the job request from him, eyeing it sulkily. "You sure you don't want to go with Chelia?"

He blinked. "Shelia's not even in the guild," he answered. "Why? Do you want to ask her?"

"No!" She said quickly. "Gimmie five minutes, I'll be right out."

"Kay, I'll meet you down in the lobby," he called as she dashed into her bedroom. Heading out the door, he shook his head. Man, she was weird.

xXx

In her bedroom, Wendy ripped through her clothes. Her cheeks were flaming, and she fighting the urge to break something shiny. Charla wasn't back yet, so she guessed it was just going to be her and Romeo. _Curse that exceed!_ Ever since she and Happy had started a romantic relationship, she was around less. Not that Wendy wasn't happy for her, because she was, but no Charla meant she and Romeo had to be alone on missions and sometimes that meant _overnight_ missions –

Like this one! Had Romeo just naturally sniffed out her weird feelings and decided that today was the day for a two-day mission? Oh sure, it looked like fun. Retrieve some mystic gem from a mountain top, facing deadly perils? She was all for it! Except the camping in the woods part. Alone. With Romeo. _Alone._

Throwing a few things in her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, she wrote Charla a scribbled note and dashed out, almost forgetting to lock the door behind her. She had learned the hard way that, if she didn't, her female guildmates would sneak into her room and clean everything for her. Wendy _hated _that.

Romeo was waiting for her in the lobby when she arrived, previously unnoticed backpack sitting loosely on his shoulders. Wendy gulped. _Whelp. Here goes nothing._

xXx

As the two walked out into the evening street, four more people hid behind a street corner, watching them closely.

"You'd think she'd be able to smell us," Natsu whispered.

"She's distracted," Levy whispered back. "See how she's walking? Focused entirely on her shoes."

"She's trying not to stare at Romeo right now," Lucy added.

"And jump his bones."

"The only thing she's paying attention to is her internal struggle."

"She wouldn't notice us if we yelled her name."

Gajeel stared at the two in amazement. "How do you _know_ that?"

Rather than explain, Lucy and Levy slipped out and began to stealthily follow the younger couple. Natsu and Gajeel followed, both looking terrified that Wendy was going to turn around any second and blow up.

"Are we really going to follow them on their mission?" Natsu asked. "I mean, you two are acting kind of crazy."

Lucy whipped around, eyes glinting at her lover. "Who you callin' crazy?"

"_Eep!"_

Romeo turned around, and the four dove into the nearest alley. Lucy's hands were clamped on Natsu's mouth, and Levy had her finger against Gajeel's. When Romeo seemed to decide nothing was there and continued on his way, Lucy and Levy released their breath.

"Natsu's right, you two are completely insane. Demon woman been rubbing off on you or somethin'?"

"We're just very interested in Wendy's well-being, that's all," Levy sighed.

"So are we," Gajeel frowned. "But aren't these drastic measures?"

The bluenette raised an eyebrow at him. "_You_ want to talk about drastic measures?"

Suddenly, Gajeel remembered why he was banned from the town library. Something which may have had to do with the amount of skinny nerds he had thrown through the window for hitting on Levy. He gulped audibly, and hastily changed to subject. "But seriously, why are we following them?"

"We aren't," Lucy sighed. "I just wanted to make sure they actually got out on a mission. From here, we can only hope that things take their natural course."

"Natural course being Romeo gets his head out of his ass before Chelia gets seriously injured?"

"Yes, Natsu, that sounds ideal."

xXx

But, despite the ideal conditions, Wendy and Romeo returned back to the guild two days later looking no different, other than Romeo harbouring a newfound belief that girls were really weird.

And both Levy and Lucy were starting to lose their composure.

Wendy came over to them, slumping in the chair. As soon as her forehead hit the wooden table, Natsu leaned over. "So? How'd it go?"

She mumbled something incoherent. Natsu poked her repeatedly until she moved. "Hey, come on, Wendy! Talk to us!"

Finally, she sat up. "Oh, it was fantastic," she grumbled. "Five different girls in the town hit on Romeo. Three of them gave him _kisses_ for thanks."

Natsu hissed through his teeth. "Ai. How you haven't spontaneously combusted is beyond me."

"She isn't a fire dragon, that's why." Lucy conked him on the head. Turning to the younger girl, she asked in sympathy, "Really, Wendy, are you okay?"

"Just peachy," the girl grumbled. Lucy and Levy exchanged a look.

Gajeel finally spoke up, resting his chin on his arms so he was closer to her level. "Oi, kiddo," he said gruffly. "You've gotta do something about this jealousy. It'll eat you from the inside out."

"But what am I supposed to do?" Wendy asked Gajeel, finally letting an emotion other than annoyance show on her face. With her big wide eyes, she looked so vulnerable all four wanted to lock her away in a tower. "I mean, Romeo doesn't like me. He likes Chelia! I know he'd be happier with her, only...only..."

She let out a low groan and let her head hit the wooden table again. The others started to worry about a bruise forming.

Seeing that talking was going to get them nowhere, the four departed, leaving Wendy to sulk in peace. Lucy bit her lip, looking worriedly back at her younger friend. Natsu caught the look on her face, and casually leaned in to sling an arm over her shoulder. "Ah, don't worry," he said with a grin. "She'll be fine! I was, after all."

"Yeah," Lucy said sadly. "But you're a lot stronger than Wendy is."

All four gazes went back to Wendy, who had started repeatedly banging her head on the table. "She'll be fine," Natsu said, a little less convincingly. He glanced over at Gajeel. "Right?"

The iron dragon tapped his chin. "I give her three days."

Natsu frowned. "Have a little faith, man. Five days."

"You wanna bet money on that, Salamander?"

Levy cleared her throat. "Excuse me, what are you two on about?"

"How long it's going to take for Wendy to explode," Natsu said casually.

At the mention of the word _explode_, Lucy's mind was transported back to the time when Natsu set fire to Magnolia's central park and Levy's mind went to the time all the bookstores in town were mysteriously demolished. Colour drained from both girl's faces.

"W-Wendy wouldn't go that far," Lucy said weakly. Levy merely shuddered and clutched tighter to Gajeel. The two dragons grinned at each other. The bet was on.

In the end, however, it took her a week.

The doors to the guild slammed open, a vicious wind cutting through and knocking over several chairs. Wendy stood in the doorway, heaving, face flushed with anger and blue hair flying around her like a halo. Most guild members shrieked and ducked under their tables. Several cries of '_this is what we get for having three dragon slayers!'_ echoed.

Lucy jumped to her feet, clutching at her blonde hair to stop it from blowing everywhere. "Wendy!" She cried. "What in the name of Mavis is going on!?"

Seething, Wendy stomped toward their table. Levy found herself ducking behind Gajeel's large frame. Gajeel himself was staring at Wendy open-mouthed, and Natsu's reaction was somewhat the same. Even for a dragon slayer, this was extreme. She was basically causing a hurricane across Magnolia.

"Romeo," she hissed, voice almost otherworldly in its terrifying-ness. "Is. On. A. _DATE!_"

xXx

The group of four hovered outside the beautiful seaside town of Anemone, eyes focused on the small cafe. They were hiding in the shadows of a back alley, focused on the table near the outside, by the gate, with the white and blue umbrella shading the two occupants from the sun. Romeo and Chelia were smiling and making goo-goo eyes at each other that might actually rival Bambi.

"Mmf! Lmf m'gmf!"

The thin bluenette struggled against her iron bonds, trying to eat her way through the cloth tied around her mouth. What she might have been trying to say was "_Let me go!_", but her four captors had no such intentions.

Levy peered around the corner. "It looks like the date is in full swing and going well," she reported. "Both sides look equally interested."

"How serious is it?" Lucy asked from her point as a guard by Wendy. Natsu glanced back at her in annoyed confusion.

"How are we supposed to tell how serious it is?" he complained loudly. The other three shushed him. They were supposed to be undercover.

"What are they wearing?" Lucy hissed. "Normal clothes? Are they dressed up? How fancy?"

Levy studied them. "Chelia is wearing her usual style of dress, but it looks new."

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "How new?"

"Not bought for this occasion," Levy answered, and Lucy relaxed some. "And Romeo's just wearing his usual clothes."

Lucy let out a sigh of relief. "Okay," she assured Wendy. "It's not a serious date."

"How can you tell that from their clothes?" Natsu asked in amazement. Gajeel nodded in agreement. "I mean, clothes don't mean much on a date, do they?"

Levy bit back a chuckle as Lucy glowered at her boyfriend. "To normal people, they do."

Gajeel shot Natsu a sideways look. "Don't tell me you never notice Bunny Girl dollin' herself up for you?"

Natsu blinked, "No. She always looks beautiful," he answered honestly.

Levy had to duck her head to smother her laughter. Gajeel snorted, and Natsu looked between the two in confusion. "What?"

Lucy, meanwhile, had started glowing the second those words left Natsu's lips. Staring lovingly at him, she made the mistake of not watching Wendy.

"Oh," Levy noticed. "There is one thing different about Romeo. He isn't wearing his necklace."

Something behind them snapped.

Four heads whipped around. Wendy, who had been struggling non-stop since they left the guild, had gone completely still. Silence fell over them, and Lucy reached out a hand gently.

"Wen-"

xXx

The date had been going well, Romeo thought, until the cafe exploded.

Well, as well as a date could have gone, he supposed. The conversation was a little awkward and forced; Chelia kept giggling in a voice too high-pitched and looking over her shoulders. And of course, there was the setting – Anemone was Chelia's hometown, not his, and she was no doubt using that as backup. He'd only been here a few times to visit the Lamia Scale guild hall, and both times Wendy had been there with him.

Unconsciously, his hand went to his neck. He kept forgetting that he left the beaded necklace at home. It always made him think of Wendy, and on a date with another girl this might not have been a good idea.

"So," Chelia said, checking over her shoulder again. Why did she keep doing that? "What was the last mission you went on?"

"Uh," Romeo thought. Sure, he remembered. The one he went on after Lucy and Levy had pushed him into it. "I went on this job with Wendy, we had to climb to the top of a mountain and get this magic jewel – it was causing storms that were destroying the village, see? And..."

He trailed off. Chelia was barely paying attention.

"Man, girls are weird," he muttered, slouching in his seat.

It was at that moment the explosion happened. A large gust of wind ripped through the street, knocking all of the umbrellas over and causing some of the cafe windows to shatter. Chelia shrieked, and both of them sprang to their feet, whipping around. Romeo felt his legs shake. He _knew_ this wind.

"Wendy?" He cried in disbelief.

She was storming down the street, causing the cobblestones under her to fly off. Her face was shadowed, eyes glowing red. Romeo fell back a few steps, but Wendy paid him no heed – she raised her hand and without a word sent a blast of wind towards Chelia.

"What are you doing?" Chelia cried, throwing up her own gust of black wind to dispel it. The force of Wendy's blast was enough to send her stumbling back. "Wendy, what's wrong?

The Sky Sorceress, didn't answer, merely screamed and threw her arms up. A storm was brewing above them, covering the sun with dark clouds. Romeo scanned the streets behind her – and came to see Natsu and Gajeel cowering in a back alley, shielding Lucy and Levy from the flying debris.

"You guys!" He yelled at them. "You meddling – what did you do?!"

At that, Wendy turned to him. "What did they do?" She hissed, stepping forwards. "What did _you_ do?!"

Wendy lunged for him, but Chelia jumped in the way. "Wendy!" She yelled. "Stop!"

"And _you_!" Wendy's voice was inhuman. "Taking him away from me! Thought you could get away with it, did you?"

Romeo was dumbfounded. Chelia started. "Wha-is this about him?" She pointed to Romeo, and he stared at Wendy in wonder. Could it be...were Lucy and Levy _right?_

"Of course this is about him!" Wendy roared. She lunged toward Chelia, and the both were lost in a flurry of magic and fists.

"No! Wendy, you have to listen!" Chelia cried. "I had no idea you liked him! If I did, I never would have-"

"Have what?" Wendy sent a particularly violent blast her way. Chelia ducked, and the top half of the cafe was ripped away. Romeo gulped. Wendy lunged forward, wrapping her thin fingers around the other girl's throat.

"I don't like him!" Chelia managed to get out, clawing at Wendy's hand. "Okay? I don't like Romeo!"

That caused the storm to slow. The winds shifted to a gentle breeze, and Wendy loosened her grip. "You...don't?" She asked, face coming out of shadow.

"No," Chelia sighed, and Wendy let go. The other girl stumbled back, coughing.

"Then...why did you..." The young dragon stumbled back, and Romeo was stunned to see a few blue-white scales dusting along her cheekbones. Had she...he'd never seen her lose control like that before. Was that all because of him?

Chelia gave a shaky laugh. "I was trying to make Lyon jealous," she said finally. "He just...I just wanted him to see me, you know?"

Wendy blinked. "Oh," she said in a very small voice. The scales disappeared and the winds died down completely. A blush began to spread across her face. "Oh."

Chelia bit her lip, and Wendy gave her a small half smile. Then, out of nowhere, one of the residents of Anemone yelled out.

"_Hey!_ Isn't that Fairy Tail?"

"Those damn Fairies! Why do they destroy _everything?_"

Wendy let out a small _eep_, suddenly seeing all the destruction she caused. Romeo made a split-second decision – a very Fairy Tail kind of decision. He jumped to his feet and ran towards Wendy, grabbing her wrist. "Run!" he yelped, and tugged her along.

Chelia watched them go with a grin on her face, waving at her departing friends. Romeo turned and waved back, letting her know there were no hard feelings. The two raced past the other four, who promptly go to their feet and started running.

She giggled. How typical of her friends. Glancing around at the cafe she'd inadvertently demolished, she felt a small twinge of regret. But it had all been part of her plan. Cafes were a small price to pay next to her friend's happiness.

She hadn't been entirely lying to Wendy. Sure, getting Lyon's attention would have been nice. But there was another ulterior motive at play, and she had definitely lied by saying she had no idea Wendy liked Romeo. She'd known since the first day she saw the three of them together. The day she made it her mission to see them get together.

Congratulating herself, Chelia brushed some of the rubble off her shoulders. Mission: accomplished.

xXx

The six walked back to Magnolia in some silence. It wasn't too long of a walk, just long enough for the silence between Wendy and Romeo to become suffocating.

Wendy was still overcome with mortification at what she'd done. She was walking with her face very firmly focused on the ground. Up ahead, Gajeel and Natsu were having some kind of quiet argument. They were too far away for Romeo to hear, but thanks to her dragon hearing, Wendy could make out every word. They were arguing about whether or not anyone won the bet.

"Technically," Lucy muttered, "I won."

"Just because we didn't," Natsu hissed back. "You didn't bet at all!"

"In order for us to win she would have never blown up at all," Levy reminded her.

"Yeah, I win because my guess was closer."

"No you don't," Gajeel growled. "Nobody wins, Salamander. Got that?"

Wendy covered her face with her hands. They'd been placing _bets_ on her? Was that how bad she'd been?

From beside her, Romeo was being awfully quiet. She finally gathered enough courage to glance his way. He looked lost in thought, eyes distant.

"Romeo?" She asked softly.

He grunted in acknowledgement. Feeling a little braver, she continued. "Are you okay?"

He sent her a sideways look, and Wendy felt chills all the way down her legs. This was nothing new to her, of course, it happened every time Romeo looked at her – but now there was an extra fluttering in her stomach. Because now he knew how she felt.

"I just..." he said. "Chelia. She never liked me. She was only using me to make Lyon jealous."

"Yeah?" Wendy asked cautiously. If Romeo said he was heartbroken and would never love again, she might just blow up all over again.

"Well.." he ran a hand through his hair. "Ack. This is so dumb."

"What is it?"

"Is it really so impossible for a girl to like me just for me?" he said in one rushed breath. Then he seemed to realize who he was talking to, and cleared his throat.

Wendy bit her lip. "I like you, Romeo." And there is was. _Damn_, did it ever feel good to say it out loud.

He chuckled, shoving his hands in his pocket. "Yeah, I got that," he said, eyes on the ground.

"Yeah," Wendy replied, embarrassment fading into her voice. "Sorry about that."

"Why did you say you didn't like me?" He asked suddenly. Wendy blinked in surprise.

"Huh?"

"A few years ago. I overheard you arguing to Bisca that you didn't like me."

Wendy felt a laugh bubbling up in her throat. She couldn't help it. He heard that? He actually believed that? "She was just teasing me. I got flustered and argued. She didn't believe me one bit." The giggles were escaping now, and Romeo glared.

"Don't laugh," he pouted.

"I can't help it!" she laughed, wiping away a tear leaking from her eyes. Romeo growled low in his throat, and grabbed her arm, pulling her face close.

"I said, don't laugh," he said in a rough voice. Wendy stopped laughing immediately, gulping. They were about an inch apart.

"Um," she licked her lips. "Um, you...do you..."

_Like me, too?_

The question hung in the air between them. Romeo's eyes searched hers, dark and mysterious like they always were. She was hardly ever this close to him. Her dragon nose twitched. He smelled like smoke.

Slowly, Romeo answered the question by leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. Wendy practically melted into it, raising her hands to rest them gently in the crooks of his elbows as he circled his arms around her waist. Wendy grinned into the kiss; oh yeah. Lacrima screens did _not_ do it credit.

"_Kyaaaah!_"

The sharp squeal broke them apart, and both jumped in shock, springing away. Natsu was clapping and Gajeel was watching with a proud grin on his face. Lucy and Levy, on the other hand, were jumping up and down with their arms around each other, screaming for joy like their favourite ship had just sailed into canon waters.

"Why can't we have normal relatives?" Romeo grumbled, glaring at the four of them. Wendy merely laughed, and pulled him in for another kiss.

**xXx**

**I love RoWen.**

**(If enough people ask I might be persuaded into telling the story of Natsu setting fire to Magnolia's central park, or Gajeel throwing people out of library windows)**


	2. but my knees were far too weak

**A/N Whelp. Since everyone asked for it. Jealous Natsu is just plastered all over fanfiction isn't he. SO I tried to make this one a little less predictable. **

**-title of this one comes from Adele's 'Set Fire to the Rain'. Hey, anyone wanna tell me what this song actually means? I've heard it so many times but I'm just so lost is she committing arson or what is happening**

**-this takes place about two years before the last one. So Wendy's about fourteen, Lucy's about nineteen, etc.**

**XxXxX**

**My hands, they're strong, but my knees were far too weak**

**XxXxX**

If there was one mood swing the guild never expected Natsu to do, it was sulking.

Sure, okay, he sulked sometimes. Like when he couldn't beat Gildarts in a fight. Or Laxus. Or Erza. Just...when he couldn't win fights in general. Or when he had to take the train somewhere. Or the bus. Or any mode of transportation. Okay, point is – when he does sulk, it doesn't last very long. An hour, or maybe two if it's serious. But never more than that.

Natsu had been sulking for three days straight.

Gajeel and Gray sat on either side of him, staring at the side of his head. Both had been there for five minutes and the Salamander had yet to notice their presence.

"Maybe he's dead," Gray observed after some time.

Gajeel shook his head. "Naw, he'd have started to stink by now."

Gray grunted in agreement. Hesitantly, he raise a hand and poked Natsu's hair. "Oi, slanty-eyes," he said in his most obnoxious voice. "Your face is dumb."

The comment was so childish; Gajeel gave Gray a look that said 'seriously dude?' Gray shrugged at him. Things like that usually worked on Natsu. He was easily provoked that way. But Natsu didn't move from his spot at the bar where his forehead was practically glued to the wood.

Then Gajeel decided to give it a shot. Tilting his head to the side, he pretended to look at the door to the guild. "Bunny Girl's here," he said casually.

The way Natsu's head shot up so fast it cracked was practically comical. He glared in a wide-eyed frenzy at the door, gaze roving across the entrance. When he didn't see any Lucy, he returned to his previous position without so much as a word.

"This is bad," Gajeel said over his head. "He should have been able to smell that she wasn't here."

"Where is she, anyway?" Gray asked. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Lucy at the guild all day yesterday, either. Gajeel stared at him. "What?"

"You seriously don't know?"

Gray was at a complete loss. Gajeel shook his head. The idiot must really have his brain frozen over not to have heard the news circling the guild for the last three days. Either that, or his head stuck in a rock. Mavis, he hated gossip and even he knew. Then again, Natsu's current attitude probably could have explained everything to anyone with half a brain.

"Lucy has a boyfriend."

xXx

"I don't know how it happened," Lucy explained for the umpteenth time, circling her bedroom and looking for something to wear. "One second, I was just talking to this guy and the next thing I know, he's asking me out! And I mean come on. The guy was cute. How could I say no?"

Levy eyed her friend critically from her cross-legged position on the bed. "I know," she said dryly. "You've only told me about fifty times."

Lucy cringed, "Sorry," she apologized. "It's just...when you like someone, you want to talk about them all the time, you know?"

Levy did know. After all, it was she who often had to have duct tape slapped across her mouth so she'd stop talking about Gajeel. The thing about it was, though – from the day she joined the guild right up until three days ago, Lucy had been able to speak of nothing but Natsu.

That was how it worked. Conversations around Lucy just generally turned in his favour. If all roads led to Rome, then all topics led to Natsu. Levy was pretty sure Lucy had no idea she was doing it, either, which only served to make the whole situation more entertaining. And Natsu was the same – he always talked about Lucy. Like, _always_. If someone mentioned about the new book they bought the other day, it was 'Man, Lucy's so weird, she reads books all the time.' Or if something smelled funny, it was 'You should smell the perfumes in Lucy's house.'

It was clear to anyone with half a brain that Natsu and Lucy shared an abundance of mutual feelings for each other. There were bets going on it. Levy was in on most of them. People from other guilds were in on them. The entirety of Blue Pegasus had a wager that valued half their estate, mostly thanks to a comment dropped by Hibiki that he had seen inside Lucy's mind.

But the strangest part about the whole situation, Levy thought, was that they had seemed so close to something happening. They were closer every day. They were more touchy-feely than ever. Natsu had seemed to actually realize that Lucy was a girl, and a hot one at that. In fact, Levy had been betting on a confession any day.

And then this had happened. Completely out of the blue.

The strangest part was, Lucy seemed to actually _like_ this guy. She really did talk about him all the time; every word out of her mouth was about him. She hadn't asked about Natsu once, and probably had no idea that he was festering away in his own pit of self-pity and jealousy.

In fact, it was so odd that Levy was beginning to suspect foul play.

"Okay," said Lucy, pulling out an emerald green cocktail dress that looked several sizes too small. "I'm wearing this!"

Levy choked. If Natsu saw Lucy in that...bad things would happen. "Um," she hastily tried to change her friend's mind. "Maybe something a little less...that? I mean, you don't want him to think you're trying too hard or anything, right?"

Lucy gasped. "You're absolutely right!" She threw the dress back and pulled out a brown sack that looked like a muumuu. "Is this better?"

Levy sank down further, putting her head in her hands. Oh yeah. Something was definitely not right here.

xXx

"So what, we're just gonna follow them on their date?" Gajeel asked as they crouched in the corner of the diner.

"Yes," Levy hissed back. "I told you, something doesn't add up." She glanced up at the iron dragon slayer, who looked immensely uncomfortable with their setting. "You made sure Natsu isn't going anywhere?"

Gajeel nodded. "Yeah, ice-head's got that covered." Not that it would be too hard, seeing as Natsu had barely moved for the last three days anyway. "And what are you gonna do if Bunny Girl sees us?"

Levy beamed up at him. "We're on a date."

It was a legitimate excuse. They'd been together for what, eight months now? Gajeel grumbled something about how this definitely wasn't how he wanted to spend a date, but Levy shushed him. It was for the sake of Lucy, and Natsu's mental health.

Gajeel eyed the couple at the other side of the diner. He had to admit, he really didn't like the guy. The guild didn't know much about him, surprising considering how much they craved gossip. All that was really known was that his name was Richard, and he was a watchmaker. Seriously. _Richard? _More like Dick, Gajeel thought with a snort.

It wasn't even like Dick had done anything wrong. Maybe it was his complete lack of interesting features that made Gajeel dislike him so much. Or maybe it was his bro-senses kicking in, not that he'd ever admit that out loud.

Thanks to his heightened dragon hearing, he could make out every word of their conversation. It was going something like... _"Wow, you fixed that?"_

"_Haha, yeah, I really enjoy fixing watches."_

"_I would never have the patience for it. *flirtatious giggle" You're really something, Richard."_

Gajeel resisted the urge to vomit.

"What are you so certain is goin' on?" he asked Levy instead. Said bluenette was glaring at the couple without blinking, eating the shrimp at their table like a robot. Gajeel had to bite back a giggle/snort/laugh that would have been entirely too out of character – but shit, she was just too cute sometimes.

Then again, she hadn't so much as twitched an eyelid when he ordered the shrimp, so something was definitely up.

"I think he might be using some kind of spell," Levy said finally. That caught Gajeel's attention.

"I can't smell any magic on the guy," he said bluntly. "There's no way something like that is going on."

Levy growled. "Well, something is! Lucy would not just drop Natsu like a hot potato!" She said that last bit a little too loudly, and Lucy started. As she looked around, both Gajeel and Levy hid behind their menus.

"This is crazy," Gajeel hissed at her. "We ain't gonna learn anything by doing this."

"Fine," Levy snapped back quietly. "We'll have to try another tactic?"

"Eh?"

"Undercover research," Levy said darkly. "I'll have to go talk to him myself."

Instantly Gajeel bristled. No way. There was absolutely no way in all hell he was letting Shorty anywhere near that squinty-eyed, suspicious, way too normal to be actually normal -

"Okay, okay!" Levy yelped, catching sight of his face. "I won't talk to him. Someone else will!"

xXx

Happy padded down the bar to stand in front of his best friend. He frowned sadly down at the sight. It was positively pathetic, more so even than when he rode the train. "Natsu..." Happy wailed softly. "Get up."

"No." Natsu's voice was muffled. "Just leave me here to die."

Lisanna, who was watching from a few tables away, felt her face pull deeper into a frown. "Geez, what a drama queen," she sighed.

Wendy, sitting at the table with her, nodded her head silently in agreement. "I've never seen Natsu act like that," the younger girl observed. "It's almost like he's..."

"Just been told he can't have a puppy?" Lisanna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's him all right. You'd think he was a little girl denied a pony."

Wendy giggled at the comparison. "At least he knows it's about Lucy?"

Lisanna moved to shush the girl, but it was too late. The second Natsu heard the name, his body gave a massive twitch. The he fell off the chair.

Wendy bit her lip. "Sorry."

Gray and Juvia, who were supposedly guarding Natsu, looked at him in concern. Well, Juvia was concerned. Gray was exasperated. He tried to haul him back on the stool, but Natsu was having none of it. He curled up in fetal position and refused to move.

"This is so out of character for Natsu," Wendy said worriedly. "Is he really okay?"

Truth be told, Lisanna had no idea. She had never, _ever_ seen Natsu act like this before. And she'd known him for a very long time. Natsu was a strong person, sure, but when it came to feelings with him, it was like wading through a bog.

"You know something about dragon slayers," Lisanna said to Wendy instead. "Is this normal?"

Wendy shrunk under the question. "W-well," she stammered. "You remember Gajeel, right?"

Of course she remembered. Who didn't remember? The library still sent them complaints. "Yeah?"

"I mean, that was really violent." Wendy sounded like she didn't want to continue. "So – I mean, couldn't we only assume he'll get violent, too?" She pointed to Natsu's prone form.

Lisanna didn't like the sound of that. Natsu was violent on a good day. "But he's so calm."

"Maybe he hasn't his boiling point yet."

The voice was new, and they both looked up to see Gajeel towering over them. "I didn't hear you guys come back!" Wendy exclaimed happily. "How did it go?"

Gajeel sat down heavily. "I dunno," he grunted. "She's definitely into him, though. It's not a trick. Shrimp wants someone to interrogate Dick, though."

"Dick?" Lisanna asked, somewhat amused.

"Oh, yeah, apparently that's his name now." Levy popped up beside them. "I still think there's more to the story, though. So someone has to go talk to him."

"I'll do it," Lisanna offered, but Gajeel shook his head.

"'S gotta be a guy," he said. "If he is using some kind of dirty trick, we need to play it safe."

A smile ghosted around Levy's lips. "You're getting into this, aren't you?"

He looked away pointedly. "No."

It was then that he saw Natsu in the floor. His face was hidden, but Lisanna was pretty sure he had started sucking his thumb.

"...is he serious?"

"I'm more worried about whether or not he'll be okay," Levy said, brow furrowed. "It's like he's sick."

"He's heartsick," Wendy said sadly. "And he'll be okay, I think, just as long as nobody says the L-word."

"What, lesbians?"

"No, Gajeel. Love."

"I think she means the other L-word," Lisanna sweat-dropped. "You know? The L-name?"

"Ohh."

All eyes found Natsu. Said fire dragon stumbled to his feet, wandering out of the guild without a word. Or, at least, he tried. He missed the door and walked right into the wall. The worst part was, he just kept walking, like a glitch in a video game.

"That's it," Lisanna decided. "Someone needs to talk to Dick."

Unfortunately, Gray had decided he wanted nothing more to do with this and Gajeel couldn't be trusted to go near the guy without hurting him. It didn't leave them with a lot of trustworthy options. That was when Wendy had a brilliant idea.

"I have someone we can ask," she beamed, and without a word, hopped off the chair to go visit a certain fire-mage with s soft spot for Natsu.

xXx

Romeo popped into the watch shop, hesitantly stepping over the threshold. "Hello?" He called. From behind the desk, a head popped up, one Romeo vaguely recognized from waiting outside the guild.

"I'll be right with you!" the figure called in a pleasant but forgettable voice. Romeo waited by the cabinet as the young man pulled himself out from under his counter.

He'd agreed to this for several reasons. One, Natsu was his idol. Seeing him so mopey was disillusioning him. And two, Wendy asked him. Romeo would pretty much do anything the Sky Sorceress asked him to. He was whipped like that. Which was sad, really, because they weren't even close to dating...

Romeo shook those thoughts from his head, instead focusing on the man named Dick. Immediately he scanned him for any signs of magic, but outwardly the guy seemed clean. In fact, apart from the single cowlick in his hair, he seemed entirely normal.

"Yeah, this watch was my dad's. It broke recently." He didn't mention that Gajeel broke it specifically for this purpose. "I'd like to get it fixed?"

"Sure." Dick held the watch up to the light. "Man, this thing really did take a beating, huh?"

Yeah. Thanks, Gajeel. "How long do you think it will take to fix?"

Dick shrugged. "Oh, maybe twenty minutes."

Romeo started. Twenty - no way. He couldn't possibly be that good. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I know what I'm doing." Dick grinned. "You can hang around the shop if you want, see if there's anything else you like."

"Sure." Romeo was pretty much at a loss for words. Sure, he'd take the time to search the shop for anything suspicious. But hell if it took less than twenty minutes.

He dropped the watch on the guild bar twenty-five minutes later. Wendy gasped. "He did it that quickly?"

"The guys legit," Romeo sighed. "And I didn't find anything else on him. Sorry to disappoint you, Levy, but he's a regular watchmaker."

Levy groaned and leaned over the table, putting her head in her arms. Romeo could relate.

"We'll just have to let it be, I guess," she said sadly. "Natsu will have to work through this by himself."

xXx

Natsu listened to the conversation his friends were having half-heartedly. Part of him felt happy that they cared about him so much. Then again, if they really cared about him they'd just rip out his heart so he wouldn't feel this awful pain in his chest all the time.

It wasn't like he didn't _know_ he loved Lucy. Shit, he'd have to be really dumb not to see that. Natsu wasn't as dense as people liked to think he was, and if he wasn't so drained of energy he'd tell them so.

He'd pretty much had the growing feeling in his chest since Tenrou Island two years ago. Maybe it was strange time to spark the thought, watching her get pummelled by some giant pale pastry of a person. But it wasn't just that: it was the grip that circled his wrist when he fell off the ledge, preventing him from falling. It was the warm arms around his shoulders that kept him anchored when he lost all hope. It was the smile as she handed him back his scarf after risking falling just to catch it.

See? That was how he knew there was seriously something wrong. That was the single most eloquent thing he'd ever said.

And yet, he knew that if he ever tried to say it to Lucy, it would come out something along the lines of _'aghkblafghh.'_

Sighing heavily, Natsu heaved himself to his feet. This time, he actually managed to make it out the doors without tripping or walking in to anything. As he wandered out the doors, Happy flew up beside him. "Where are you going?" He asked, still sounding far too worried for someone named Happy.

"Home," Natsu replied. "I'm just gonna curl up in my sock drawer and sleep for days. Okay? Okay."

Happy watched him go sadly. "Natsu... we don't have a sock drawer..."

He wandered through Magnolia like a ghost. Evening was falling, and the stars were starting to come out and twinkle. Natsu made a rude face at them; stars made him think of Lucy and that made him more depressed.

Hanging his head, Natsu continued down the sidewalk, bypassing stores and couples out for an evening stroll. He wanted to punch them all in the face, but couldn't quite muster up the energy. A few storeowners who knew him called out to ask if he was okay. He didn't reply.

So completely lost in his own head was he, Natsu didn't even realize when he walked into someone.

And you knew that was bad, too, because he should have recognized her scent a mile away.

"Natsu!"

He jumped right out of his skin, stumbling back. There she was. Glorious, glowing in the streetlight, radiant in the evening. Staring at him with wide, brown eyes that clearly said she thought he was crazy.

He wanted to jump her bones.

"Natsu, are you okay?"

She was still staring at him with that quizzical expression. Behind her, Dick walked up and placed his hand on the small of her back. "What's up, Lucy?" He caught sight of Natsu. "Oh, hey! You're in Lucy's guild, right?"

Natsu's pupils contracted. He could feel his whole body begin to shake, nails making dents in his palms. He was focused on the arm around Lucy, the hand on her back, lower than it should be, right where his hand should be...

Then all his breath left him on a whoosh, and he nodded. "Yeah."

And he walked around the two of them without saying anything else.

Because he'd _seen_ it. He saw her lean into Dick's embrace, saw the way she easily slipped into his arm, smelled the attraction towards him coming off her in waves. She _liked_ this guy. As in, she really, honestly liked him and wanted to be with him.

And if Natsu really cared about her, he would let her be happy.

He made it about two more streets before he fell in the river.

xXx

Wendy poked his forehead, worry on her brow. Natsu twitched, but from there didn't move. From where she was crouched, Wendy looked up at Gajeel. "He's really not going to be okay, is he?"

They had found Natsu that afternoon, on the outskirts of town washed up on the side of the river. After several members of the guild had mentioned their worry about his state of well-being – mostly Erza – the two dragon slayers had made it their goal to find him. Mostly because one did not argue with Erza.

"Oi, Salamander. What happened last night?" Gajeel called, kicking him lightly in the side. Natsu coughed, groaned and sat up.

"Ugh, why do you care?" He pouted. Gajeel's brow creased.

"I don't," he stated shortly. "But you're starting to worry the others. So cut it out."

Natsu looked away pointedly. "Like who?"

"Like Happy!" Wendy exclaimed. "And us!"

"Bunny girl," Gajeel said.

Natsu's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. But it only lasted a second. "I saw her. Last night."

"And?" Gajeel didn't sound like he cared too much. "Did ya get her?"

Natsu's silence was all that was needed. Gajeel gave a growl and grabbed the other by the scarf, hauling him to his feet. "Get up, idiot. We're going to the guild, and you two are gonna talk this out. Okay?"

As Gajeel dragged Natsu's ass back to Fairy Tail, Wendy scurried along beside him. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked quietly.

"Don't care," Gajeel replied. "I'm tired of dealing with him."

It was almost evening when they got back. Happy cried with joy when Natsu was shoved through the doors. He flew straight into Natsu's stomach, and other raised his arms weakly to hug his friend.

"Where were you?" Happy wailed. "You weren't home when I went there! And when I went to Lucy's, she said you weren't there either! She said she saw you, and you looked really weird." He sniffed. "Weirder than she is, usually!"

Both Wendy and Gajeel tensed as Happy mentioned Lucy's name, fearing the worst for Natsu. But the fire mage only laughed softly, and ruffled the top of Happy's head. They let out a sigh of relief. Apparently he cared about Happy more than he cared about being miserable, at least.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I got a little distracted."

"By what?"

"...the river."

Two feet appeared in front him. Natsu looked up, following them up two legs attached to one body with one very unhappy face.

"Lisanna?"

"Where were you?" She demanded. "You had the whole guild worried sick."

"Sorry, I-"

"And what about Lucy? Do you know how worried she's been? _Mavis_, Natsu, what's gotten into you?"

Natsu averted his eyes. "Why would she be worried about me? She has a _boyfriend._"

He said it so childishly and immaturely that a vein in Lisanna's forehead popped. This guy... "She said she saw you last night and you looked terrible. She said you didn't even give a proper hello!"

He said nothing, merely pulled his knees in. Happy gazed up at him with large, sad eyes.

"Natsu...what's happened to you..."

At that moment, there came a great clatter behind them. The doors to the guild were thrown open, and Levy stood on the threshold, red-faced and chest heaving.

"Shrimp?" Gajeel asked. "What happened."

"It's Lucy," she replied through gasping breaths. "I just...I was talking to her, and-"

"What?"

Natsu was on his feet in a second. He grabbed Levy's shoulders, causing Gajeel to make a noise of indignation. He ignored him. "What did she say?"

"Um." Levy's eyes darted back and forth. Clearly, she didn't think it was a good idea to say this on front of Natsu. This only caused his gaze to harden and his grip to get tighter.

"_What?_"

"Sh...she said that tonight was going to be a really special night," Levy said uncertainly. "Her date with Richard... she said tonight... she might," she cleared her throat. "She might sleep with him."

Silence fell across the guild. All eyes went to Natsu.

Said dragon slayer had gone eerily still. His eyes weren't entirely focused. He started to shake, from his feet through his arms and up to his shoulders. Strands of hair fell in front of his face, masking part of his face from view and causing it to fall into shadow.

Lisanna stepped towards him uncertainly. "Natsu?"

And then he exploded.

xXx

Magnolia's central park was always pretty around this time of year, Lucy thought, as she wandered hand in hand with Richard along the paths. They strung up pretty lights among the tree branches, and dimmed the streetlights so the whole park was cast in a hazy glow.

She remembered the time Natsu uprooted one of the trees and sent it to her, that time she got sick and missed the Rainbow Sakura festival. Of course, she'd been since, but nothing had ever compared to the sight of a tree floating down the river.

Thinking about Natsu put her in a bad mood, so she shook the thought from her head. She was here to have fun, not brood over boys being stupid. Lacing her fingers through Richard's, she grinned at him. "Your hands are cold."

"So are yours," he observed. Grinning, Lucy held up a hand for them both to study.

"They're always cold."

Richard leaned in a little closer. "Maybe I can fix that."

Lucy leaned in. Their lips hovered and inch away, but something reached her nose and she pulled back. "Do you smell smoke?"

Richard furrowed his brows. "Yeah, I do, now that you mention it."

They both looked around. Was it just her, or was the 'hazy glow' of the park suddenly a lot brighter? And – was that? Over there, it couldn't be –

A great roar shook the park, and people burst through the trees, screaming. Lucy clutched to Richard, staring in horror and shock.

The park was on fire.

Almost every tree was ablaze. The sky was orange, and the lights had all exploded and were only adding to the fire – the fire that Lucy knew, that she had known like the back of her hand for years. That was Natsu's fire.

Then, with a great crack, one of the trees fell over, revealing a blazing figure storming towards them. His entire body was, quite literally on fire, every limb engulfed in flame. Every step he took left a singed mark in the grass. Richard yelled and pulled Lucy behind him.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked, eyes wide.

The sound of her voice caused his body to convulse, and he spun in her direction. With an inhumane roar, Natsu began to run at them, leaving a trail of flames in his wake. He reached them and without any hesitation, punched Richard in the face.

"Hey!" Lucy shrieked. Natsu turned on her, eyes glowing red. There were scales adorning his face, and it was a set mask of fury. She fell back a step. He lunged for her, and Lucy threw her arms up in defense, prepared for what she didn't know.

But whatever she was expecting, it was not to be swept up in Natsu's arms.

He took off, dashing away from the gathering crowd and Richard, struggling on the ground with a bloody nose. Lucy gasped at the heat of the flames coming from his body, the sensation paired with the cold wind as they moved at top speed.

They ran until they reached the river as it ran through the park, leaving the trees behind, now just a red and orange line on the horizon. Natsu set her down, and Lucy stumbled away from him, punching his chest and feeling it burn her knuckles.

"Natsu!" She creamed, furious. "What – how could you – what are you _doing?_"

Most of the fire died out, although a few stray flames still licked at his cheeks and fingers. Natsu leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers and leaving no space between them. "You were going to sleep with him."

"What?" Lucy gasped, barely able to breathe through their close proximity. "How – Levy, that little-"

"Don't avoid it," Natsu growled, and Lucy stopped with a gulp. "You were, weren't you? You'd sleep with him, a guy you've known for a week!"

Her face coloured at the implication, and anger rushed through her veins again. Pressing her forehead right back, she seethed with such viciousness Natsu nearly fell back. "And what business of yours is that!" she shrieked in a strangled voice. "You haven't even spoken to me at all this past week!"

"Why do you think that is!" He exploded. "You're always with your precious _Dick_-"

"My precious what? Don't you dare make this about him, Natsu, where the hell do you get off, punching him like that-"

"You were going to _sleep with him!"_

Lucy gave a frustrated scream and placed her hands on Natsu's chest, shoving hard. "And so what if I was?!" She cried finally. "It's been more than three dates, and you know that's the rule, third date and suddenly it's on the table-"

"You can't sleep with him Luce, you aren't allowed, you can't-"

"I can't?! So now you think you can tell me what I can and can't do? And don't you dare call me Luce, not after that stunt you just pulled-"

He grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her close until their mouths collided and he kissed her fiercely.

Lucy gasped, closing her eyes. She couldn't help it. There was so much passion in his lips, they molded onto hers, causing her knees to weaken and joints to melt. She leaned into him, raising her hands to spread her fingers across his chest.

And then she remembered what she was doing, and pushed him off. "The hell, Natsu?"

Her voice was definitely not as strong as she wished. In fact, it cracked weakly, like she was crying.

"Luce," Natsu said, breathing heavily. Some of the scales had disappeared, but not all of them. His eyes had gone back to normal. Or, as normal as they could be, half-lidded and glazed as they were. Lucy felt her knees tremble again.

"You can't," he said breathlessly. "You can't be with him."

"Natsu..." Lucy said weakly. "Do you...do you like me?"

He started to laugh. Not a happy laugh, but the kind of laugh you make when something is so sad it amuses you. "Like you?" He said when he could breathe again. "Lucy, I love you. I have for a long time."

Lucy choked on the air. "You..what?" she managed. "Since when?"

Still laughing, he shrugged his shoulders. "Tenrou Island. The Grand Magic Games. I don't know, Luce, it's all a blur."

"That long?" Lucy shook her head. "Natsu, why didn't you say anything?"

He ran a hand through his hair. All of the scales were gone now, and the flames had extinguished. He looked tired, defeated. It was not a look he should have been wearing. "I don't know. I just never thought about it, and then," he gestured back to the park behind them. "You started going out with him, and..."

"And what brought that on?" Lucy asked shakily, pointing back to the mess he left.

Natsu hung his head. "Levy said you were thinking about..with him, and I just started picturing it." His hand burst into flame, but he extinguished it. "And I couldn't take it, Luce. I couldn't stand the thought of you being with someone else."

Lucy covered her mouth with her hands. The idiot...all that, just for her? Catching her look, he gave a hollow laugh. "Yeah. Guess I went a bit overboard, huh?"

Shaking her head, Lucy stepped up to him and grabbed his scarf. Pulling his face in, she whispered, "You idiot," and kissed him again.

The bushes behind them shook, and then four people and an exceed tumbled out. Lucy jumped, Natsu pulling her closer. "Oi! Who's there?"

Her eyes widened in recognition. "You guys..."

Levy, Gajeel, Wendy, Romeo, and Happy grinned up at her from their pile of bodies. "Hey!" Levy said with a sheepish grin.

"We followed you," Gajeel said. "Wanted to make sure you didn't do anything stupid." On that, he looked pointedly to the park.

"Natsu, that was so romantic," Wendy said dreamily, leaning her chin on her hands. "You're so cool."

Lucy shrieked in frustration. "You guys! Why didn't you stop him? And wait – you mean to say you were watching that whole thing?!"

"Aye! Like a soap opera!"

Roaring, Lucy jumped into the pile and started fighting like a wildcat. Natsu had to grin. Fairy Tail was really starting to rub off on her, huh?

Gajeel escaped from the cloud of flying fists and went to stand beside his friend. "Nice going," he commented, gesturing to the burning park. "The whole city's got a search warrant for your ass. You don't think you could have reined it in a little?"

"Like you're one to talk!" Levy yelled, sticking her head out. Then Lucy's hand found her hair and she was pulled back under.

And Natsu started to laugh. He laughed and laughed and laughed until he couldn't breathe anymore, and then he fell on the ground and laughed even harder.

Things were starting to look up.

**XxXxX**

**Hasn't been proofread, so forgive errors. This would have been out quicker, were it not for the vast amount of homework, projects, and tests I have.**

**So maybe I went a little overboard with the mopey Natsu, but hey! He goes 100% at everything else he does, why wouldn't that include sulking?**

**Gajeel isn't allowed to say anything because next up, he gets ripped into. Poor guy. He's too cute, I just want to make him suffer~**


	3. and he ain't seen me crazy yet

**A/N So this only took what, a week? Sorry guys. Difficult time at school. Hey, but the chapter this week was awesome beyond words, right?**

**-title comes from Miranda Lambert's Gunpowder and Lead. So maybe it doesn't fit the situation at all...don't care! The one lyric worked!**

**-referencing a lot of books that probably don't exist here, guys. Ignore the gaping plot hole.**

**XxXxX**

**If he wants a fight well now he's got one, and he ain't seen me crazy yet**

**XxXxX**

It was no secret to anyone who asked that Levy McGarden had feelings for Gajeel Redfox, and that the feeling was entirely mutual. However, it was also no secret that the two of them would deny it until the day they died, for reasons the rest of their guild would never come to comprehend.

It was also, however, widely viewed as a great source of entertainment to the rest of the guild when Gajeel started acting like a possessive boyfriend.

It had been about a year since the rather explosive end of the Grand Magic Games. Nothing much had changed in the guild, some new members and some old, some more brushes with death – nothing out of the ordinary. Asuka finally learned to walk on her own, and caused more destruction than Natsu ever had (up until that point, anyway.) All in all, it was a good year for Fairy Tail.

And then the world hit a certain point on its axis where everything seemed to grind to a halt for one particular individual; and Lily, wise Exceed that he was, liked to say it was the day Gajeel woke up and realized that Levy was actually desirable to other men.

It was funny, how, in such a short space of time, the definition of the word 'threat' had shifted from 'huge, hulking, ultra-powerful mage with no regrets on killing' to 'skinny guy with glasses and a good book'.

"Oh, so you've read the Game of Thrones series, then?" The boy in the library leaned forward on the counter, grinning elatedly at his success in finding a pretty girl who read sword-and-sorcery novels.

Levy laughed, the sound like a wind chime. "Oh, just the first one," she confessed. "I always hate to admit it, but I've got a real pension for sappy romances."

His face fell for a moment. "You mean, like, Twilight?"

She coloured. "N-no!" Levy argued, waving her hands desperately. "No, not like that at all! Like, Jane Austen." Her face went dreamy.

Gajeel watched the two chat, hands clenched into fists so tight his knuckles had bypassed white and were shooting straight for translucent. "Are you going to say anything?" Lily asked, almost too amused to keep a straight face.

Gajeel's studded brow twitched. Levy gave one last particularly pretty laugh and waved at her conversational partner, floating over to where he was waiting. "Sorry for keeping you," she apologized with a grin that said she wasn't sorry at all. "You know how I get when someone talks to me about books."

"Whatever," Gajeel grunted. He was out the door in seconds, Levy following quickly on his heels. He hated it in there. It smelled like paper and ink and Levy and good things and _that's why he didn't like it in there, damnit_.

Glancing behind him, he noticed Levy was practically skipping in excitement. "The hell are you so happy for?" He asked, after watching her in amusement for a time.

She hummed. "Oh, nothing." With a sunny grin, she said, "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

He grunted again. Damn people and their damn positivity. Where did they get it all from, anyway? Like that damn bunny girl, and the flame brain, and even Lily. It was like some people were born with these with these unstoppable wells of positive energy inside them. And _no_, it wasn't nice to hang around positive people for a change. It was annoying. It gave him a headache.

Speaking of bunny girls and unlimited bounciness, there came across none other than Lucy Heartfilia on the journey back to the guild. "Morning, Levy!" She called with a bright smile, bounding over. She and Levy clasped hands in excitement.

"Lucy!" Levy said in delight. "You'll never guess who I ran into at the library this morning!"

As the two fell into chipper chatter (chipper chatter, that was good, he should put that in a song) Salamander came up beside him. "Yo," the flame-brain said, looking less positive than usual.

Gajeel acknowledged him with a grunt, and they fell into step behind the two girls. "What's got you so dumb-lookin' today?" He asked. Natsu shrugged his shoulders, holding his hands behind his head and looking vaguely at the ground.

"Been thinking," he said. Gajeel snorted.

"Don't try too hard, you'll bust your brains."

Natsu glared at him. "Shut up, Gajeel. Like you ever do any real thinking."

"I do think."

"Yeah, about the next awful song you're gonna write."

Gajeel squawked in indignation, but before he could manage to get any words out, Natsu continued. "I've been thinking about Lucy."

"Ho ho?" Gajeel stopped being annoyed and let his lips turn up into a grin. "What kind of thing you been thinkin' of? Never mind, don't tell me, I don't want to know."

Natsu shoved him. "Hey, shut up, man! Like you haven't been thinking about Levy, either!"

At that, Gajeel sputtered even more than he had at the song comment. He couldn't believe that the dense idiot actually picked up on something like that. "You – I don't-"

"He does," Lily supplied. Gajeel jumped, he'd completely forgotten the small back cat was flying along beside them. Natsu grinned in triumph, and Happy swooped over.

"Ooh," he grinned, and with a roll of his tongue, started his famous, "You liiiiike her-"

Gajeel reached up, snatched the Exceed out of the sky and tossed him over his shoulder. Natsu yelped, running back to make sure his friend was okay. Gajeel crossed his arms, grumbling angrily about all manner of things.

Unbeknownst to all – except Lily, who knew all – Levy was watching them from over her shoulder with a half-smile playing on her lips. She was half-pretending to listen to Lucy, who was still talking away with no idea as to the events unfolding behind them. With a satisfied look, Levy turned back to her friend. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

xXx

"Everything is going according to plan."

Levy paced her apartment, artfully stepping over the books strewn across the floor and only half-paying attention. She was rubbing her hands together, mind lost in whatever scheme she was concocting.

Lucy watched her in amusement, sitting cross-legged on her bed. "Your plan?" She asked skeptically. "Levy, no offense, but you sound like an evil mastermind."

Snickering, Levy waved her friend away. Then she caught her foot on a heavy tome and tripped, stacking it on the soft carpet. Torn between amusement and genuine concern, Lucy continued. "So you really heard them?"

"Yup." Levy picked herself up. "Don't worry, Lucy. Gajeel is absolutely interested." She artfully refrained from mentioning what Natsu said; Lucy could figure that out for herself later.

"And your plan is...?"

"To make him jealous and give him the kick in the rear he needs? Yes. Absolutely."

Lucy shook her head. "You know, I don't know if that's such a good idea. I've been reading up on dragons, you know, since the whole Grand Magic Games incident? And from what I gather they're kinda possessive."

"That's what I'm counting on," Levy sang.

"But what if he gets violent?" Lucy persisted.

Levy stopped to think about it. A devious smile broke out on her face. "Well, I'd be flattered."

"Levy!" Lucy threw a book her way, and the smaller girl ducked easily. "Come on, just promise me you won't overdo it, okay?"

"Relax!" Levy laughed. It's not like I'm actually going to go out with anybody." She shrugged. "I don't want anyone but him, I'm just tired of waiting for him to make a move!"

"Then why don't you just make a move?"

"I am making a move! And getting a little revenge as I do so!"

Lucy could only sigh and pray that this did not backfire in any way.

xXx

They were at the library again the next day, Levy having somehow managed to succeed in cajoling Gajeel to carry the 'big heavy stack of books' for her. She was perfectly capable of carrying them on her own, always have been, and was pretty sure Gajeel knew that, too. But she credited his compliance to her puppy-dog eyes. People thought she didn't know she was using them. Boy, were they wrong.

There was a new guy at the counter today, this one with straw-coloured hair sticking up in all directions. He was skinny as a scarecrow, with a pair of thin-rimmed glasses jammed on his nose. Why did all these guys wear glasses?

Glancing over her shoulder at Gajeel, she saw him pointedly looking out the window. But his body was tense, and she could feel his annoyance radiating towards her all the way from where she was standing. Levy fought back a grin. _Perfect._

Doing a quick scan of the stack of books by his side, Levy pulled her glasses out of her pocket and gently slid them on. Sidling over to him, she made sure to lean on the counter a little more provocatively than she was used to.

"Hi!" She said, in a voice not too loud but loud enough to get Gajeel's attention. "I was hoping you could help me with something?"

The boy glanced up half-heartedly, probably irritated that he had to stop his reading. But he gave a double take at the pretty mage before him. "Uh..." he managed. "Yeah?"

Normally, Levy would have been incredibly uncomfortable with this kind of behaviour. Years ago, she wouldn't have believed herself capable of it or even had the confidence to try. But the years of watching Lucy had changed her, and well...

She gave one last glance over to Gajeel, who was glaring at them hotly.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, right?

"Yeah, I was looking for the new book in The Mortal Instruments series, but I can't seem to find it anywhere," Levy said, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. Lie: she knew where it was. It was at the bottom of his book pile.

Scarecrow lit up, pulling it out. "You mean this?"

"That's the one!" Levy cheered. "I've been looking for it all afternoon! Gosh, you must be my angel or something."

He flushed, giving her what was probably supposed to be a seductive grin. "Or maybe I'm your _Shadowhunter_."

She nearly flinched. _False_: Shadowhunters were the descendants of angels, not angels themselves. Did this guy even read the books?

Taking it from his outstretched grasp, Levy managed a sweet smile. "Yeah, I suppose you are," she said, in the quietest purr she could muster. _Please let that work._

Mavis must have heard her, because the next second Gajeel was towering behind her, his mere presence making Scarecrow look like he was going to piss his pants. "You done, Shorty?"

Levy beamed. "Yup!" Dropping the new book onto the pile he was already holding, Levy gave one last flirty wave to her library friend. "See you around, Shadowhunter."

Gajeel's face went from shock to anger to confusion to disgust back to a straight face all within the space of a second. Levy caught it all from the corner of her eye, and had to physically restrain herself from breaking out into song.

She was winning this fight, all right.

The next day, she went back to return the books. Gajeel complained loudly about how it was impossible that she read through them all that fast, but carried them back without her even needing to ask. Scarecrow wasn't in, but another boy with chubby arms and headphones blasting helped her pick books from the shelf. She had no intention of reading the sappy teen fiction, but Gajeel's reaction to her leaning the other boy's shoulder was worth it.

Scarecrow was in the day after that. Levy went to go peruse the shelves (she was looking for something real this time) and only realized in retrospect that leaving Gajeel alone with the skinny kid was probably not the best idea.

She was in the process of choosing between _Vanity Fair_ (her 20th time) or _Pride & Prejudice_ (her 150th time) when the sound of glass shattering caught her attention. Shoving both books back on the shelf, for she had copies of them both somewhere in apartment anyway, she dashed back into the main lobby.

Many people in the room were staring at Gajeel, who was standing with his shoulders hunched and tense beside the window – which was broken into the suspicious shape of a person. Like someone had just been thrown through it.

"We're leaving," Gajeel growled, grabbing her arm roughly and dragging her out. Levy yelped but allowed herself to be pulled out, looking behind her to see Scarecrow picking himself out of the rose beds.

She probably should have been mad. Ignoring the flutter in her stomach, she turned back to Gajeel. "What did you do that for?" She asked, attempting to sound angry.

Gajeel muttered something about annoying bratty sticks. "He was bein' a jerk," he said, when Levy continued to give him a piercing glare.

"Well, what did he say?" She asked.

He went red as a cherry tomato, let go of her arm, shoved his hands in his pocket and stalked away, leaving Levy feeling confused and slightly more elated than she should have.

He was _jealous_.

xXx

Gajeel tried to restrain himself. He really, honestly did.

But what was he supposed to do? The damn jerk leaning up on the counter like that, all sleazy looking (or trying and pathetically failing, anyway, Gajeel had seen fish with twice the appeal of that idiot) and talking about how he was going to ask Levy out. Which was bad enough, except that he also started talking about what he was going to do after, and it was at that point Gajeel seized the back of his jacket and tossed him out the window.

But it was only a one story library. He felt justified.

What made it worse – the shrimp kept asking him to carry her damn books. Like she couldn't carry a stack twice her size with no problem. He was pretty sure half her battle-power had been transferred to book-carrying-power at birth.

But he couldn't say no, either, because that meant leaving her to the claws of library predators.

"Library predators?"

"Shaddup, Lil," he growled. Lily watched his friend in amusement, small arms crossed.

"You have a problem, Gajeel."

"Do not."

"Yes, you do, if you're referring to these indivuals as 'library predators.'"

"They are!" Gajeel snapped. "It's like they took stalking lessons from Juvia, I don't even want to think about what would happen if one of them actually took an interest in her-"

"You'd throw them out the window again?"

It had happened three times since Scarecrow. Gajeel was fairly certain they were just baiting him now. Like someone said, "I'll pay you twenty jewels if you can get Gajeel Redfox to throw you out the library window!" He couldn't believe some of the things they'd said to him. And yet, no matter how much he told himself that they were only saying these things to get a rise out of him, he still couldn't stop himself from reacting.

They stepped into the library again that afternoon, falling into a routine of sorts. Only today, Lily had decided to join them, as said library had been filing complaints against Fairy Tail. He sulked in the corner like usual, now not even bothering to hide that he was standing right beside the patched up window. They'd tried boarding it up, but after Gajeel tossed a guy clean through the wood, they decided glass was perhaps less dangerous.

Levy asked him to wait, like she always did, reminding him not to do anything violent. He made no promises, and she rolled her eyes slightly and sashayed off to peruse the aisles. He watched her as she left, eyes following her movements.

"You're staring, by the way."

Gajeel started. "Am not."

"You can't argue like that," Lily said. "It's riddled with fallacies. You'll never convince anyone with that childish retort-"

"I said _shaddup_, Lil."

She caught the corner of his eye, and he focused on her. She was talking to someone, someone he didn't recognize. His eyes narrowed. No, he definitely didn't know this guy.

He was a nerd, sure. But a good-looking one, although Gajeel hated to admit it. Dark hair perfectly combed back, glasses framing a nice face, chiselled jaw. The collared shirt and suspender collaboration he was wearing did nothing to hide his fit physique, and Gajeel was convinced he was one of those jerks who knew he looked good and tried to downplay it while simultaneously uplaying it.

He watched their conversation with eyes like a hawk, straining his ears to hear. Levy's words were indistinguishable; her soft voice was all he could discern. The new guy had a deeper voice, and although Gajeel couldn't hear at all what they were saying, Levy was blushing and fiddling – something she hadn't done at all before.

New Guy left her to browse while wandering over to Gajeel. Said dragon stiffened and started a mantra in his head not to punch the guy's light's out right then and there. A few regular patrons gathered around, whispering to themselves. This was it, he could hear them. Shit was about to hit the fan.

"That's Levy McGarden from Fairy Tail, right?" New Guy asked, jerking his thumb back.

Gajeel grunted. "Couldn't 've asked her that yourself?"

He laughed. "Well, I didn't want to come off as not knowing who she was, and look like a jerk."

Too late.

"Yeah, that's her," Gajeel growled. "What do ya want her for?"

"Oh, nothing," New Guy hummed. "I'm opening a book shop in town, and she's the expert on books, right? I'd love to get her opinion."

Oh, he was opening a bookstore. How nice. Gajeel wanted to sock him. "She's a little busy, you know, bein' a _mage_ and all."

"Ah, yes," New Guy nodded. "She's very multi-talented."

"Hn."

"She's wonderful, isn't she?"

Gajeel twitched. Just as her was about to retort, New Guy opened his mouth again, and the words that rolled out hit him like a steamroller.

"You don't deserve her."

Lily started jumping from his perch of Gajeel's shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, but-" he started in a polite tone. But he stopped when Gajeel pivoted on his heel and walked right out the door.

Levy came around the shelf, coming face-to-face with a floating Lily and smug-looking man in glasses. "Gajeel?"

xXx

_You don't deserve her._

The words echoed in his head, rattling like chains. _You don't deserve her_. What a prick. What did he know, eh? What, did he say he owned a bookstore?

Gajeel stormed down the paved streets, 3 o'clock air cold against his face. Sleep was not there to visit him. He lay awake for about two hours, staring at the same spot on the ceiling – until he had the brilliant idea to go give the guy a piece of his mind.

_You don't deserve her._

What a stupid, pretentious, righteous, self-preaching, dumbass -

The words were leaving him, flying out the window right along with his rationality. With every passing second that he didn't find the damn bookshop, was another second his rage threatened to boil over.

_You don't deserve her._

Screw him.

There was a bookshop over there. Was it his? He didn't know. Should he even bother talking to this guy? He was clearly beyond any sense of thought process. For what was probably the first time in his life, he was filled with the kind of unbridled, passionate rage that was the fuel of Salamander's fire. And all the while, those words echoed in his head like church bells.

_You don't deserve her_.

If he had to destroy every bookstore on Magnolia, then so be it.

He would.

xXx

Levy woke up that morning to someone knocking repeatedly on her door. She groaned, throwing an arm over her eyes. She'd stayed up way too late last night, re-reading the Harry Potter series for what was the millionth time (That's right, she read the whole series in one night. Thus was the extent of Levy's powers.)Even though her clock read noon, it was still too early for someone to be waking her up.

"I'll be out soon, Erza," she slurred, because who else would be banging on her door like a drill sergeant?

"It isn't Erza!" Lucy's voice came through the wood. "Open up, Levy!"

She sounded mad, and it was enough to drag Levy from her bed and across the apartment, finally opening the door. Lucy stormed in, eyes steely.

"Your plan backfired," she informed Levy coldly. "Like I told you it would."

"Wha?" Levy scratched her head. Her brain wasn't functioning yet. "What do you mean? What plan?"

"Your '_Get Gajeel Jealous_' plan!" Lucy snapped. "It worked all right! And now look what we have to deal with!"

"What? Lucy, what are you talking about?"

"Every bookstore!" The spirit mage cried, grabbing Levy's shoulders. "Every bookstore in Magnolia, iron pillars smashed through the windows. And guess who wasn't at the guild this morning?"

Slowly, understanding dawned on Levy. "No way... he wouldn't. He wouldn't do something like that."

"I don't care about that!" Lucy yelled. Shaking Levy's shoulders, she wailed, 'How am I supposed to get my books now?!"

Levy blinked, head lolling around. "That's what you care about?"

"Yes!" Lucy shrieked. "And thanks to you-" she let go of Levy to point accusingly in her face – "I have no place to find books except the public library!"

A slow smile creeped up on Levy's face. Lucy stopped her hysterics to stare at her friend in awe and fear. "No way. Lev –you can't be happy about this."

"I'm not," she protested, but the huge grin growing across her cheeks told a different story. She was remembering her conversation yesterday. Didn't that guys say he was opening a bookstore in town?

Lucy collapsed. "I don't believe you," she moaned. "I'm in a crisis and you're happy."

"I'll send up Natsu," Levy soothed, stepping over her. She couldn't stay here, she had an iron dragon slayer to find.

"Levy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're still in your pyjamas."

...all right, she had an iron dragon slayer to find in five minutes.

xXx

Dashing into the guild hall, Levy was not surprised to find most members milling about, talking about the escapades of last night. From her run down the hill, she'd caught sight of the town and noticed smoke rising from quite a few places. Although still reeling in shock that Gajeel would actually go that far, she still had butterflies with machine guns in her stomach.

"Where is he?" She asked anyone who would listen. Nobody knew, not even Wendy. It appeared that he'd vanished.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the three Exceeds talking and raced over to them. "Lily!" She cried. He held up a paw.

"Before you start," he said. "No, I don't know where he is."

Levy deflated. "Do you know why he did it?" She asked. Might as well get some information. "I mean, apart from the obvious."

Lily's face was pensive. "Your friend – the one from the library – he said something to Gajeel, and I don't think it went over well."

"What?" Levy's brow furrowed. "What did he say?"

Lily looked hesitant to answer. But at Levy's persistent gaze, he gave up. "He told Gajeel, er, I believe the exact words were, 'You don't deserve her.'"

Levy's happiness was shot from the sky like an air raid. Biting her lip, she tried to ignore the surge of anger she felt at the guy who'd been hitting on her yesterday – a guy she hadn't even liked. Why, if she had heard that, she might have been the one out destroying bookstores.

"Right," she said. "I'm going to find Gajeel."

Turning on her heel and dashing out the doors, she just barely remembered to toss over to Natsu, "By the way, Lucy needs you."

The way he jumped to his feet in a heartbeat made Levy smile, and put a glimmer of happiness back in her. Yes, she was going to find Gajeel. He had to be somewhere, even if it took all day to look for him.

It took approximately four hours to circle the circumference of Magnolia. Since she guess he wouldn't be anywhere inside the town, she jogged around the outskirts of town and had almost made it in a full circle and was close to giving up when she found a dark figure slouched down against a tree.

She walked over to him. If he acknowledged her presence, he didn't say anything. "Gajeel?"

He made a noise in his throat, and spoke with a tone she couldn't quite recognize in his voice. "Surprised you actually want to see me."

No, it couldn't be...was he _guilty?_

Silently, Levy made her way over to him. Standing directly in front of Gajeel, she placed her hands on her hips and waited, waited until he had no choice but to look up at her.

"Whaddya want, Shrimp?" he growled. Her eyebrow twitched at the nickname, but she held her ground.

"You're a real idiot, you know that, Gajeel?"

"What the hell?" He bristled. "You-"

"If a guy says you don't deserve me, are you actually going to believe him?" She said sharply. Anger at the other guy was seeping through, she couldn't help it. Gajeel made to argue back, but instead sunk lower against the tree.

"Lily told you?"

"Yup."

He refused to meet her gaze. "You don't actually believe that, do you?" she asked softly. He didn't answer her. "You do!" She yelled, stomping her foot. "You do believe that, and it's the dumbest thing I have ever heard! I mean, that's – you could just as well say that I don't deserve you, because you're strong and I'm not-"

He was looking at her now. "Oi, Shorty, that's not-"

"No it _is_ the same thing!" Levy cried. "You hear how ridiculous that sounds to you? Well, that's how ridiculous it sounds to me when somebody says you don't deserve me." She was so mad, she was practically blowing steam out of her ears, but the words just kept coming. "And you know what? If I ever caught someone saying that, I'd – I'd fill their mouth with cement! If all they can give is ungrounded insults, then they shouldn't be talking at all!"

Chest heaving, she finished her rant. Gajeel was staring at her, mouth covered. But she could tell even beneath his hand, he was grinning. She gave him a look. "Shut up."

His gaze shifted over to the city. "So you're not mad about..." he gestured in Magnolia's general direction. "That?"

She snorted, and it was a very un-Levy-like thing to do, but she did it anyway. "Please. If I were you I'd have done worse."

"So I heard." He was grinning again. "Cement in his mouth, huh?"

"And if I ever see his punk face in this town again, I'll-"

She was cut off by a hand reaching off and grabbing her wrist, pulling her down to her knees in front of him. They were on eye level now, and for the first time she could look at him without craning her neck.

His breathing was heavy. Hers wasn't doing much better. Swallowing, she managed to get out, "You really are in idiot, Gajeel Redfox."

He didn't answer. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed her.

It probably wasn't they way she envisioned their first kiss going, leaning against him with her hands balanced on his broad shoulders and the setting of the sun behind them. No, it definitely wasn't the way she imagined it, but holy _Mavis_. Was it ever _better_.

Yup, books just didn't compare.

xXx

They stood outside the library next morning, Gajeel faithfully accompanying his new girlfriend (oh, he would never tire of saying that, and if any nerd questioned it he would smack the word in their face and rub it in until their nose broke) and stared up at the sign tacked in the front doors.

Or, rather, the picture of him covered with the huge red block letters, stating _NOT ALLOWED_.

"...you've gotta be kidding me."

Levy was laughing. "Well, that's what you get for throwing people out of windows! I'm surprised they didn't do it sooner." She turned to him, grinning widely. "I guess you'll just have to wait out here while I grab my books, huh?"

He didn't answer her, leaning in closer to the sign and squinting his eyes. Levy made a face. "Gajeel, you can't seriously not have been expecting this."

"Naw, it ain't that," he said, titling his head. "But couldn't they have found a better picture?"

**XxXxX**

**And Gajeel shows us his inner Flynn Rider. "They just can't get my nose right!"**

**I know it's shorter than the others :( My inspiration ran dry. I've been spending the whole past week doodling Rogue onto my homework and projects and getting strange looks from my classmates. (I tell them I'm not crazy, just in love with a guy who has an evil shadow, but they just don't believe me!)**

**Once again, not proofread. I literally just finished typing it and am going to post asap. Please forgive errors!**

**And thus concludes my trilogy, which was really only supposed to be a one-shot. Hope everyone enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it!**


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